I've
been backpacking for almost half a century, and regularly in the
Rockies since 1986. I do a weeklong trip every summer, and often
take three-day trips. I'm usually camping in alpine terrain, at
altitudes 5000 to 13000 ft (1500 - 4000 m). I prefer base camp
backpacking, a long hike in with day trips from camp, but I do my share
of forced marches too. Though always looking for ways to reduce
weight, I'm not yet a lightweight hiker and I usually choose a bit of
extra weight over foregoing camp conveniences I've come to expect.

INITIAL REPORTJuly 10, 2011

THE PRODUCT

Convertible
pants are a piece of clothing designed for hikers – trousers that allow
one to wear them as trousers or, after undoing the zippers that
encircle each leg just above the knee, as shorts. Granite Creek
is a mountain stream near maker Mountain Khakis’ home base of Jackson,
Wyoming.

Manufacturer: Mountain Khakis Website: http://www.mountainkhakis.comThe photo at left comes from this website.Weight, measured: 20.0 oz (567 g)Waist, listed and measured: 38 in (97 cm)Inseam, listed and measured: 34 in (86 cm)Available sizes: These
pants are available in even waist sizes from 28 to 44 inches (71-112
cm), also 33 and 35 (84 and 89 cm). Inseams of 30 and 32 inches (76 and 81 cm)
are available for all waist sizes; some also are available in 34 and 36
inches (86 and 91 cm). The Granite Creek Convertibles are listed
only in the Men’s tab. Color: Birch (tan). Also available in Ash (grey), Earth (brown), and Pine (green).MSRP: $79.95 US Material: 6.3 oz treated brushed nylon, rated UV 50+Related Products:
Mountain Khakis offers non-convertible pants and shorts made of the
same material, also named Granite Creek. Each of these is also
available in a Women’s style.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Fit.
Like every other pair of pants or shorts from Mountain Khakis that I’ve
owned, the fit suits me very well. The legs are not too blousy,
not too tight. The fit at the waist and in the seat is comfortable
and neither confining nor loose. I’m between waist sizes and, as
usual, I sized up to avoid a tight fit, so that I can tuck in two
shirts if I wish. My waist size allowed me to choose one of the
longer inseams. With these the cuffs sit atop my hiking boots
with a very slight break, just as I like them.

Features.
At first glance I thought that Mountain Khakis had abandoned a
signature feature, the double right front pocket, but then I realized
it had only been modified. Instead of a divider between two
compartments of the slash pocket, there’s a single “normal” pocket and
a vertically zippered separate pocket just to the right. The
Granite Creek Convertibles have three additional pockets: a standard
left-side slash pocket, a zippered rear pocket on the right hip, and a
cargo pocket on the left side, just above the zipper that can convert
the Convertibles to shorts. This last pocket has a rectangular
flap fastened by hook-and-loop patches at the corners. Just under
this flap is a zippered compartment separate from the cargo
pocket. All in all, ample storage room for camera, pocket knife,
mobile phone, and car keys, the latter two safely stowed inside
zippered compartments.

Another hallmark of Mountain
Khakis’ flagship product, the Original Mountain Pants, is heavy canvas
fabric. In contrast, the brushed nylon of the Granite Creek
Convertibles is a featherweight. This fabric’s hand is soft and
not a bit scratchy against my skin.

I first thought that the
straight-leg cut of these trousers gave them a slightly bell-bottomed
look, but measuring indicates this is not the case – the diameter at
the cuffs is slightly less than at the knee.

The Convertibles are cinched at the
waist with a metal button on which is imprinted the manufacturer’s name
and logo, at the top of a zippered fly. Around the waist are six
belt loops, each two inches (5 cm) long and double sewn at each
end.

Conversion
from trousers to shorts and back is easy and intuitive. The lower
sections are side-specific and (a nice touch) color-coded (zipper and
adjacent fabric) accordingly: right side the color of the pants, the
left grey. When stripped of the lowers the cuff of the shorts
comes about two inches (5 cm) above the top of my kneecap. Each
lower section has a ten-inch (25 cm) zipper on the outside to
facilitate donning or doffing the pants (or just the lower sections)
without removing one’s footwear.

Appearance.
Either as shorts or trousers the Granite Creek Convertibles look like
outdoor wear – rugged and functional. A friend said that from a
distance of twenty feet (6 m) they looked heavy, heavier than they felt
to the touch. Certainly they appear suitable for the “fish /
travel / hike / fireside” identified by the manufacturer as their
uses. I’m looking forward to testing this claim.

WHAT I LIKE

Nylon
material, said to be water resistant. Not like my other Mountain
Khakis pants, which are cotton and thus in my opinion not suitable for
backpacking.

Pockets. Many of ‘em, and all
well located. I especially like the three zippered pockets, as I
can be paranoid about losing car keys or passport.

Fit. Just right at the waist and cuff and everywhere in between.

WHAT I DON’T

Haven’t found anything yet.

FIELD REPORTSeptember 18, 2011

I’ve spent several weeks in
Montana this summer, and I’ve worn my Mountain Khakis Granite Creek
Convertibles on most days. That’s not simply devotion to this
test – these pants have become a personal favorite.

FIELD CONDITIONS

The Convertibles have seen
eight backcountry days – four day hikes mid-July, at all times as
shorts, and a four-day backpacking trip in Yellowstone National Park in
late August, during which I zipped on the bottoms in the evenings around
camp.

All day hikes took place in fair weather, with high temperatures about
85 F (30 C), at elevations from 6000-7000 feet (1500-2000 m).
These were on well-established trails. Following my usual custom
I kept my cell phone in one zippered front pocket, car keys in the
other, wallet in the rear pocket, and camera in the other right front
pocket.

My
backpacking trip was along the Big Horn Pass trail in Yellowstone, in
typical late summer Montana weather – highs about 90 F (32 C), down to
40 F (5 C) at night, and mostly sunny with a brief thunderstorm,
peppered with pea-sized hail, every afternoon. From our base camp
we hiked to Big Horn Pass itself, elevation 9110 feet (2777 m), on one
day, and to a midway point on the trail to Fawn Pass, slightly lower in
elevation, on another. I did some scrambling on this trip, but
most of the terrain in this section of the Park (the upper reaches of
the Gallatin River) is broad meadows, so I cannot claim real
bushwhacking. The only constant hazard was the “hitchhiker” burrs
from the weeds along the trail. Often caught in my socks but never on the Convertibles.

I wore the Convertibles as shorts under GORE-TEX waders on two days,
the first about 75 F (25 C) and overcast, with a couple of rain
showers, the second hot (about 95 F/35 C), clear, and windless until a
one-hour thunderstorm cooled things off late in the afternoon.

Around home the Convertibles, as shorts, were a wardrobe staple on
weekends in the little time I spent outdoors in this record-setting
Texas summer – seventy days when the mercury exceeded 100 F (38 C).

PERFORMANCE

As I said, I like ‘em.
Certainly my favorite feature is the pockets. I like cargo-type
shorts in general for hiking because of the many pockets, but these
stand out even among others that I own. The three zippered
pockets provide safekeeping for items I can’t afford to lose, and all
pockets are deep enough so that each will hold common pocket items, in
my case camera and bandana and maybe a snack or two. The pockets’ size
means I don’t notice their contents when I’m hiking; everything fits
comfortably but nothing seems to slide around.

The Convertibles convert easily. The color-coding on the zippers
really helps in low light. No sticky zippers yet; once I set the
tooth in the slot it’s been simple to run the zipper pull around my
leg.

The Convertibles’ fabric remains intact, with no noticeable abrasion
from the rocks and logs I’ve sat upon on my hikes. It’s also
comfortable enough that I wear them in the front country despite my
preference there for natural fibers like cotton and linen.

As with other trousers and shorts from Mountain Khakis that I own (one
of them reviewed on this site), the Convertibles run true to
size. The company does not offer options on rise, but its
standard fits me quite well, thank you. (I usually have to put up with
a bit of play in the seat on other manufacturers’ models.)

I have cleaned the Convertibles five or six times. They are
treated as part of my regular laundry, tossed in the washer with other
clothes (sometimes other synthetics, sometimes with cotton items
too). If an area (usually the cuffs on the side pockets or the
hem of the shorts) is noticeably dirty I might apply a drop or two of
detergent directly. They are dried in the dryer on medium heat,
again with the rest of the wash – no special treatment. So far
I’ve seen no loose threads or other deterioration, and no
shrinkage.

All in all, excellent performance, and still no complaints.

LONG TERM REPORTNovember 22, 2011

FIELD CONDITIONS

I’ve worn the Mountain Khakis Convertibles on a four-day, three-night
backpack on the Shoshone Lake, Bechler River, and Bechler Meadows
trails in Yellowstone Park, Wyoming and Idaho, in early October, and on
numerous dayhikes in Montana, Wyoming, California, and Texas.

We had Indian summer temperatures on the Bechler hike; it never got much below 40 F (4 C) at night,
and several times approached 80 F (25 C) during the day. However
it rained every day, from gentle sprinkles and ground fog on the first
two days to heavy showers on our final morning. All trail was
established and in good shape, but a couple of long stretches of this
30-mile (50 km) hike were through waist-high brush that closed in on
the trail, and both those stretches were wet with rain. On the
first two days I hiked in the Convertibles as shorts, zipping on the
bottoms in camp as the sun set. Here I am crossing the Bechler
River on the second day.

The latter two mornings were damp and chilly enough to start out in the
Convertibles as pants, but after the first brush with the brush I
removed the bottoms and donned EPIC rain pants over the shorts. The previously mentioned photo shows the last
“bridge” over the Bechler. The next three crossings were made the
old fashioned way, by wading through. The rain pants were stowed for these fords. The second ford was daunting
– strong current and water deep enough almost
to be teacupped (water reaching a very sensitive part of my
anatomy). Here I am emerging from that one, with my shorts quite
damp.

One dayhike in the Rockies was cool enough for long pants, so the
Convertibles’ bottoms stayed on. On all other hikes I
followed my standard practice of hiking in shorts. Temperatures
on these hikes ranged from 45 F (8 C) to over 100 F (38+ C). On
only one day did I meet with rain – a steady drizzle for a couple of
hours. I didn’t have rain pants with me that day, so I had
another chance to test the Convertibles’ water repellency.

I’ve continued to wear the Convertibles as shorts for chores and as
casual wear on Texas weekends, all of which have been dry.

PERFORMANCE

The wet weather and damp brush along the Bechler trail gave me the
opportunity to see how the Convertibles performed when wet. They
are definitely not waterproof (and are not claimed to be so), but they
wick water away exceptionally well. They never felt saturated and
heavy, even after a hour’s hike through the grass before I topped
them with my rain pants. And they dry very quickly. They
were completely dry an hour after the rain stopped in the Bechler
Meadows (temperature about 65 F/18 C), and even more quickly on the
rainy dayhike (75 F/24 C).

I especially like the Convertibles, as shorts, for backcountry
fishing. I’ve never packed waders or a full fishing vest on an
overnight or longer trip; they are too heavy and take up too much pack
space. Since they dry so quickly, I don't mind wading in to the
point where the Convertibles, as shorts, get wet. Six accessible
pockets are just right for streamside
essentials - a small tackle box, fly patch, reel, and hip flask.
My final photo, also from the Bechler hike, shows me casting at a bend
in the Meadows, with the Tetons in the distance.

Otherwise
my observations echo those in my Field Report – great fit, lots of
easily accessible pockets, no shrinkage or stretching after another
twenty days’ use and four more washings, easy to add or subtract the
bottoms.

After all my use I cannot say they look like new; here
and there are small smudges that laundering hasn’t removed and a few
spots
where burrs or brush have nicked the fabric. These pants got very dirty
in Yellowstone, and here and there stained with huckleberry juice and
tree sap. All of that washed away. Mountain Khakis’
workmanship and materials are still intact – no loose threads,
sticky zippers, or loss of shape. Backcountry use has given them some
character, that’s all. And I doubt the nicks or smudges would be
visible had I chosen as darker color.

All in all a terrific pair of convertible trousers in my opinion. I remain a dedicated Mountain Khakis wearer.

WHAT I LIKE

Pockets. I can’t articulate exactly why, but the Convertibles’
pockets are just right. Not too many, just the right size, three
of them zippered, and all easy to access even when wearing a backpack.

Quick-drying fabric

Great fit

Durable

SUGGESTIONS

Only one – I'm hoping Mountain Khakis will someday offer cotton shorts with the cargo pocket. I’m a
natural fibers guy and would like a pair for summer use in the front
country.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

My Test Report ends here, with a repeat big
“thank
you” to BackpackGearTest.org and Mountain Khakis for this testing
opportunity.

Product tested and reviewed in each Formal Test Report has been provided free of charge by the manufacturer to BackpackGearTest.org. Upon completion of the Test Series the writer is permitted to keep the product. Owner Reviews are based on product owned by the reviewer personally unless otherwise noted.